Vortex tube reformer for hydrogen production, separation, and integrated use

ABSTRACT

A reformer assembly includes a vortex tube receiving heated fuel mixed with steam. A catalyst coats the inner wall of the main tube of the vortex tube and a hydrogen-permeable tube is positioned in the middle of the main tube coaxially with the main tube. With this structure the vortex tube outputs primarily Hydrogen from one end and Carbon-based constituents from the other end. In some embodiments a second vortex tube receives the Carbon output of the first vortex tube to establish a water gas shift reactor, producing Hydrogen from the Carbon output of the first vortex tube.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates generally to vortex tube reformers forsyngas production, hydrogen separation and injection to engines and fuelcells.

SUMMARY

An assembly includes at least one vortex tube having an inlet and aHydrogen outlet. A reformer mechanism is associated with the vortex tubeto remove Hydrogen from Carbon in molecules of hydrocarbon fuel input tothe inlet. The reformer mechanism includes a catalytic constituentinside the vortex tube, and/or heated water vapor injected into thevortex tube along with the hydrocarbon fuel.

In example embodiments, the vortex tube includes a swirl chamber, withthe inlet of the vortex tube being into the swirl chamber. Also, thevortex tube can include a main tube segment communicating with the swirlchamber and having an outlet different from the hydrogen outlet. A fuelintake of an engine can be in fluid communication with the outlet thatis different from the hydrogen outlet of the vortex tube. Furthermore,the outlet that is different from the hydrogen outlet can be juxtaposedwith an inside surface of a wall of the main tube segment. A catalyticconstituent may be disposed on the inside surface of the wall of themain tube segment.

In some embodiments, a hydrogen-permeable tube is disposed centrally inthe main tube segment and defines the hydrogen outlet at one end of thehydrogen-permeable tube.

In some embodiments, plural vortex tubes may be provided and arranged ina toroidal configuration, with a first vortex tube in the plural vortextubes defining the inlet of the vortex tube and providing fluid to aninlet of a next vortex tube in the plural vortex tubes.

The engine may be a turbine or an internal combustion engine such as adiesel engine.

The inlet of the vortex tube can be in fluid communication with a sourceof hydrocarbon fuel. In addition or alternatively, the inlet of thevortex tube can be in fluid communication with an exhaust of the engine.

In another aspect, a method includes reforming hydrocarbon fuel using atleast one vortex tube. The reforming includes removing Hydrogen fromCarbon-based constituents in molecules of the hydrocarbon fuel. Thevortex is also used to separate the Hydrogen from the Carbon-basedconstituents to render a Hydrogen stream substantially free of Carbon.The Hydrogen stream is provided to a hydrogen receiver such as a tank ora turbine or an engine.

In another aspect, an assembly includes at least a first vortex tubeconfigured for receiving hydrocarbon fuel and separating the hydrocarbonfuel into a first stream and a second stream. The first stream iscomposed primarily of Hydrogen, whereas the second stream includesCarbon such as Carbon-based constituents. At least a first Hydrogenreceiver is configured for receiving the first stream. On the otherhand, at least a second vortex tube is configured for receiving thesecond stream from the first vortex tube for separating the secondstream into a third stream and a fourth stream. The third stream iscomposed primarily of Hydrogen for provisioning thereof to the Hydrogenreceiver, while the second stream includes Carbon.

The Hydrogen receiver can include a hydrogen tank. In addition oralternatively, the Hydrogen receiver may include a fuel cell. Both thefirst and third streams may be provided to the Hydrogen receiver. TheHydrogen receiver may include a turbine or other engine.

In some examples, at least one heat exchanger is disposed in fluidcommunication between the vortex tubes and is configured for removingheat from the second stream prior to the second stream being input tothe second vortex tube. In addition or alternatively, at least a firstcatalytic constituent can be on an inside surface of the first vortextube and at least a second catalytic constituent can be on an insidesurface of the second vortex tube but not on the inside surface of thefirst vortex tube. The second catalytic constituent may include Copper,and in specific embodiments Zinc and Aluminum may also be on the insidesurface of the second vortex tube.

The details of the present description, both as to its structure andoperation, can best be understood in reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts, and inwhich:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example energy generation system;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example vortex tube reformer/separatorassembly;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a toroidal vortex tube assembly;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a vortex tube in an engine system;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a vortex tube-based Hydrogen-injectionsystem for an engine;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram from a transverse view of a vortex tube,illustrating separation;

FIGS. 7-9 are additional schematic diagrams of a vortex tube-basedHydrogen reformer systems;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an example electrical component subsystemfor supporting the vortex tube systems shown in the drawings; and

FIG. 11 is a flow chart of an example process flow of the vortex tubesystems shown in the drawings, illustrating logic that may be executedby a processor.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows an actuation system 10, described further below, that inone example imparts energy to a receiver, such as an engine such as aninternal combustion engine for a vehicle or in the example shown byimparting torque to a rotor of a turbine 12 to rotate an output shaft ofthe turbine. The turbine 12 may include a compressor section, acombustion section, and a turbine section in accordance with turbineprinciples and may also have one or more rotors or shafts whichtypically are coupled to each other and which may be concentric to eachother.

FIG. 1 shows that in one implementation, a fuel tank 14 which containshydrocarbon-based fuel such as but not limited to jet fuel can providefuel to an intake 16 of the turbine 12. The fuel typically is injectedthrough injectors in the turbine, where it mixes with air compressed bythe compressor section of the turbine and ignited in a so-called “flameholder” or “can”. “Intake” refers generally to these portions of theturbine that are preliminary to the turbine blades. The high-pressuremixture is then directed to impinge on turbine blades 18 which arecoupled to the output shaft. In this way torque is imparted to theoutput shaft to cause it to rotate about its axis. In otherimplementations the turbine 12 need not be a combustion turbine, and asalluded to above other receivers such as engines in vehicles may beused.

The output shaft of the turbine can be coupled to the rotor of anelectrical generator to rotate the generator rotor within an electricfield and thus cause the generator to output electricity. Or, the outputshaft of the turbine may be coupled to the rotor of an aircraft fan torotate the fan and thus cause it to generate thrust for propelling aturbofan jet plane. Yet again, the output shaft of the turbine may becoupled to the rotor of a propulsion component such as the rotor of ahelicopter, the shaft of a watercraft on which a propeller is mounted,or a drive shaft of a land vehicle such as a military tank to rotate therotor/shaft/drive shaft as the case may be to propel the platformthrough the air or water or over land, depending on the nature of theconveyance. The propulsion component may include a drive train that caninclude a combination of components known in the art, e.g., crankshafts,transmissions, axles, and so on.

In addition to or in lieu of actuating a receiver such as the turbine 12with fuel directly from the fuel tank 14, the actuation system 10 mayinclude a reformer assembly 20 which receives fuel from the fuel tank14. While some embodiments of the reformer assembly may include areformer and a membrane-type hydrogen separator to separate hydrogen inthe reformed product of the reformer from the carbon-based constituents,a vortex tube-based reformer assembly is described further below.

The reformer assembly 20 produces hydrogen from the fuel, and thehydrogen is sent to a fuel cell 22, in some cases through a hydrogentank 24 first as shown. If desired, multiple reformers and/or fuel cellsmay be used in parallel with each other and/or in series with eachother.

The fuel cell 22 uses the hydrogen to generate electricity, typicallywith a relatively high efficiency, by oxidizing the hydrogen with oxygenfrom, e.g., the ambient atmosphere. Without limitation, the fuel cell 22may be a polymer exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), a solid oxide fuelcell (SOFC), an alkaline fuel cell (AFC), a molten-carbonate fuel cell(MCFC), a phosphoric-acid fuel cell (PAFC), or a direct-methanol fuelcell (DMFC).

In turn, electricity from the fuel cell 22 may be sent to an electricmotor 26 to cause an output shaft of the motor 26 to turn. The motorshaft is mechanically coupled through a rotor coupling 28 to a rotor ofthe turbine 12. Typically, the turbine/engine rotor to which the motor26 is coupled is not the same segment of rotor bearing the blades 18,although in some implementations this can be the case. Instead, therotor to which the motor 26 may be coupled may be a segment of the bladerotor that does not bear blades or a rotor separate from the blade rotorand concentric therewith or otherwise coupled thereto. In any case, themotor 26, when energized by the fuel cell 22, imparts torque (throughappropriate couplings if desired) through a rotor to the output shaft ofthe turbine 12, which in some cases may be the same shaft as thatestablishing the rotor. Power from the motor 26 may be provided tocomponents other than the receiver embodied by the turbine. Yet again,the electrical power produced by the fuel cell and turbine/engine may besent to electrical storage, such as a battery system, or to a power loadsuch as the electrical distribution grid of a municipality.

In addition, to realize further efficiencies, output of the fuel cellsuch as water in the form of steam produced by the fuel cell 22 may bemixed with hydrocarbon that is input to the reformer assembly 20 in amixer 30, which may be a tank or simple pipe or other void in which thewater and carbon can mix, with the mixture then being directed (through,e.g., appropriate piping or ducting) to the turbine intake 16. Ifdesired, surfactant from a surfactant tank 32 may also be added to thesteam/carbon mixture. Or, the steam from the fuel cell may be sent tothe reformer assembly described below without mixing the steam withcarbon and/or without mixing the steam with surfactant.

In any case, it may now be appreciated that the steam/carbon mixture maysupplement fuel injection directly from the fuel tank 14 to the intake16, or replace altogether fuel injection directly from the fuel tank 14to the intake 16.

Still further, electricity produced by the fuel cell 22 may be used notonly to actuate the electric motor 26 (or provide power to a batterystorage or the grid) but also to provide ignition current for theappropriate components in the turbine or engine 12. Also, electricityfrom the fuel cell may be used for other auxiliary purposes, e.g., inaddition to actuating the electric motor, powering other electricalappliances. In cases where the reformer assembly 20 generates carbondioxide and steam, these fluids may also be directed to heat exchangersassociated with or coupled to the reformer and a steam generator.

In some embodiments, water can be returned from the fuel cell 22 ifdesired to the reformer assembly 20 through a water line 34. Also ifdesired, heat from the receiver (e.g., from the turbine 12) may becollected and routed back to the reformer assembly 20 throughducting/piping 36, to heat the reformer assembly.

FIG. 2 illustrates a vortex tube-based reformer assembly 20. As shown,the assembly 20 may include a steam reservoir 200 and a fuel reservoir202. The steam reservoir 200 and fuel reservoir 202 may be heatexchangers, schematically depicted by illustrating a respective outerheating chamber 200 a, 202 a surrounding a respective inner fluidchamber 200 b, 202 b, with the heat in each outer heat exchange chamberheating the fluid in the respective inner fluid chamber. Heat may besupplied to each heat exchange chamber 200 a, 202 a via the exhaust line36 from the exhaust of the receiver of FIG. 1, e.g., the turbine 12.

First considering the steam reservoir 200, initial water or steam forstartup may be supplied to the intake side of an optional impeller 204or other fluid movement device until such time as the initial water orsteam may be supplemented and preferably superseded by steam exhaustfrom the fuel cell 22 via the line 34 as shown. Initial startup heat mayalso be provided, e.g., from an electric heating element 206 in the heatexchange chamber 200 a of the fluid reservoir 200, from exhaust heatfrom the turbine or engine, or from some other source of heat until suchtime as the startup heat may be supplemented and preferably supersededby exhaust heat from the receiver (e.g., turbine 12) via the exhaustline 36 as shown. In any case, the initial water heated into steam forstartup and the steam from the fuel cell during operation are sent to amixer/injector reservoir 208, under the influence of the impeller 204when provided or simply under steam pressure within the inner fluidchamber 200 b.

With respect to the fuel reservoir 202, hydrocarbon fuel such as but notlimited to natural gas may be supplied from the fuel tank 14 to theintake side of an optional impeller 210 or other fluid movement device.Initial startup heat may also be provided, e.g., from an electricheating element 212 in the heat exchange chamber 202 a of the fuelreservoir 202 or from some other source of heat until such time as thestartup heat may be supplemented and preferably superseded by exhaustheat from the receiver (e.g., turbine 12) via the exhaust line 36 asshown. In any case, the heated fuel in the fluid chamber 202 b of thefuel reservoir 202, preferably scrubbed of sulfur by desulfurizersorbent elements 213 that may be provided on the inside wall of the fuelchamber, is sent to the mixer/injector reservoir 208, under theinfluence of the impeller 210 when provided or simply under fluidpressure within the inner fluid chamber 202 b. In some case, the fuelmay not be heated prior to provision to the mixer/injector 208.

In some examples, the steam in the steam reservoir 200 and/or fuel inthe fuel reservoir 202 may be heated to six hundred degrees Celsius(600° C.) to one thousand one hundred degrees Celsius (1100° C.) at apressure of three atmospheres to thirty atmospheres (3 atm-30 atm). Moregenerally, the reaction temperatures applied to the hydrocarbon andsteam mixtures can proceed from a low temperature of 300 C. up to 1200C. These temperatures can be optimized for the input hydrocarbon feedtype, the duty transit time of the process through the reaction tube,and the applied pressures caused by the turbulent flow such the vortexgenerated in the reaction tube.

The mixer/injector 208 mixes the steam from the steam reservoir 200 withthe fuel from the fuel reservoir 202. The mixing may be accomplishedunder the influence of the turbidity of the respective fluids as theyenter the mixer/injector 208 and/or by additional mixing components suchas rotating impellers within the mixer/injector 208 and/or by othersuitable means. The mixer/injector 208 injects the mixed steam and fuelinto a vortex tube 214, e.g., through fuel injectors or simply through aport and fluid line under the influence of fluid pressure within themixer.

The vortex tube 214, which also may be known as a Ranque-Hilsch vortextube, is a mechanical device that separates a compressed fluid into hotand cold streams. It typically has no moving parts.

As shown, the pressurized mixture of steam and fuel from themixer/injector 208 is injected, preferably tangentially, into a swirlchamber 216 of the vortex tube 214, and accelerated to a high rate ofrotation by the cooperation of geometry between the swirl chamber 216and cylindrical wall of a main tube segment 218 that is orientedperpendicular to the input axis of the swirl chamber 216 as shown. Afirst conical nozzle 220 may be provided at one end of the vortex tube214 so that only the outer shell of the compressed gas is allowed toescape at that end. The opening at this end thus is annular with itscentral part blocked (e.g., by a valve as described further below) sothat the remainder of the gas is forced to return back through the maininner tube 218 toward the swirl chamber 216 in an inner vortex ofreduced diameter that is substantially coaxial with the main tubesegment 218 as shown. In one embodiment, the inner vortex can beenclosed in a hydrogen-permeable tube 222 that leads to a hydrogenoutput 224, which may be established by a second conical nozzle. Thehydrogen-permeable tube 222, when provided, preferably is impermeable tocarbon-based constituents. The tube 222 may include Palladium.

A catalyzing layer 226 may be formed on or made integral with the insidesurface of at least the main inner tube 218 to attract carbon-basedconstituents to the outer circumference of the passageway formed by themain inner tube. The catalyzing layer may include nickel and/or platinumand/or rhodium and/or palladium and/or gold and/or copper. The tube 218may be composed of the catalyzing layer or the layer 226 may be added toa tube substrate as by, e.g., vapor deposition of the catalyzing layer226 onto the tube substrate, which may be ceramic.

The cooperation of structure of the vortex tube 214 forces relativelycooler hydrogen from the input fuel toward the axis of the main tube 218into the hydrogen-permeable tube 222 when provided, and left lookingdown at FIG. 2 along the axis of the main tube 218, while forcing therelatively heavier and hotter carbon-based constituents of the fueloutward against the catalytic layer 226 and right looking down at FIG.2. Owing to the cooperation of structure depicted, the fuel is bothchemically reformed into hydrogen and carbon-based constituents and thehydrogen is physically separated from the carbon-based constituents forprovisioning to the fuel cell 22.

If desired, an evacuation mechanism such as a vacuum pump 228 may beprovided to aid in withdrawing hydrogen from the hydrogen output 224 ofthe vortex tube 214. Also, if desired the hydrogen may be passed througha water gas shift reactor (WSGR) 230 to further purify the hydrogen,prior to provisioning to the fuel cell 22. Examples of vortex tube-basedWGSR embodiments are discussed further below.

On the other hand, the carbon-based constituents of the fuel are sentout of the right side of the main tube 218 of the vortex tube 214 to thereceiver, e.g., the turbine 12, in some cases via the mixer 30 shown inFIG. 1.

Fuel cells typically work better when the hydrogen input to them isrelatively cooler than that produced by conventional reformers, whichconsequently may require cooling. Moreover, it may be difficult toemploy certain hydrogen cooling techniques such as WGSR with extremelyhigh temperature hydrogen from a conventional reformer, meaning thehydrogen may require significant cooling. By reforming the fuel,separating the hydrogen, and cooling the hydrogen (relative to thecarbon-based constituents) in a single reformer assembly as describedherein, multiple benefits accrue, including the ability to producerelatively cool hydrogen which requires less post-reforming cooling andwhich extends the life of the fuel cell.

Accordingly, the application of vortex or cyclonic swirling actionenables the elegant integration of these processes and provides higherenergy efficiency, improved fuel utilization, and increased hydrogenyield. Additional advantages over conventional reformers includeshifting of the chemical equilibrium to favor hydrogen production. Thisis achieved by the placement of a hydrogen permeable membrane separatortube at the low-pressure site of the vortex to pull or harvest hydrogenfrom the evolving hydrocarbon syngas mixture during the reformingprocess in the tube. This process is achieved through the combination ofa generated vortex or vortexes, which enhances the reforming and vortexgas separation simultaneously while also enhancing the harvesting andcooling of the hydrogen gas.

In the approach described above, the generated vortex providescentrifugal spinning action which is applied to the gases in a circulartube, initially to the hydrocarbon and steam, which tangentially pressesat higher pressures and temperatures against the walls of thecatalyst-lined main tube 218, enhancing the rate of reforming. This isdue to the higher temperatures and pressures on the on the more massivemolecular gases (the hydrocarbons and steam) imposed by the swirlingmotion contacting the walls of the catalyst lined tube.

As the reforming process proceeds down the tube in the vortex, the inputhydrocarbon gas mixture differentiates or stratifies axially in the tubeaccording to gas densities. The hydrocarbons and the steam being thedensest congregate at the inside wall of the tube and the hydrogenhaving the lowest density will move towards the center of the vortex.The higher momentums are imparted to the heavier gases, the longestchain hydrocarbons and the steam, which collide with high force and inhigh densities with the catalyst-lined wall of the tube. This optimizescompliance and the interface between the hydrocarbon, the steam and thecatalyst for a given pressure.

The hydrogen gases, which are less massive, are pulled toward the centerof the vortex, toward the lower pressure zone, away from the peripheral.This effect, moving the hydrogen away from the peripheral, improves theaccess path to the catalyst for the heavier hydrocarbons, steam, andcarbon oxides. The center of the tube, where the vortex has its lowestpressures, contains the hydrogen permeable filter tube 222 with suctionfor pulling hydrogen. Therefore hydrogen permeates in to the center andis drawn off from the reaction with a negative pressure, therebyharvesting the hydrogen while the reforming process proceeds.

The hydrogen is separated and drawn to the center of the vortex due toits lower density and it is further drawn into the walls of the hydrogenpermeable separation tube due to the negative pressure applied to thetube. The drawing off or harvesting of hydrogen from the ongoingreforming further improves the dynamic chemical reactions in conjunctionwith catalyst by depleting hydrogen, limiting unfavorable hydrogenreversible reactions. This increases the hydrogen to carbon productionratio.

With the above in mind, the product of the reformation reaction (syngas)is continually tapped during the transit time along the vortex tubeproviding the purified output streams and further changing theequilibrium balance of the ongoing reaction to improve the amount ofhydrogen produced. The vortex cyclonic action may be applied to theinjected hydrocarbon and steam feeds by means of propeller, or pumpwhich a causes the heavy hydrocarbon base gases and steam towards thetube walls. This action causes reforming of some of the hydrocarbonsimpinging on the catalysts, ejecting hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Thesetwo gases being lighter than the CH4 are propelled towards the center ofthe vortex away from the wall of the vortex tube. The separated outputstreams consisting of hydrogen on the one hand and steam, carbonmonoxide, carbon dioxide, and trace impurities on the other areindividually tapped and fed to respective output streams.

The production and the separation of the output fuels streams are bothenhanced by means of the vortex action in the reaction tube and theprogressive removal of the fractional products, such as hydrogen, whichfurther provides dynamic optimization due to the continuous nonequilibrium conditions.

In addition to appropriate sensors, valves, and controller electronics,the vortex tube may include fuel and steam injectors, heating inputs,heat exchangers, high shear turbulent mixers, filters, and output streamtaps. The output hydrogen and some steam can be fed to the fuel cell 22,with carbon-based constituents and some steam being fed to the receiver.In some implementations most of the steam and heaver fractionalhydrocarbons can be fed back into the vortex tube or a plurality ofvortex tubes.

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment in which plural vortex tubes arearranged in an endless loop 300, referred to herein as a “toroidal”configuration without implying that the endless loop is perfectly round.Each vortex tube may be substantially identical in construction andoperation to the vortex tube 214 in FIG. 2.

As shown, fuel may be input to an initial vortex tube 302, the hydrogenoutput from the hydrogen permeable tube of which is sent as input to theswirl chamber of the next vortex tube 304, whose hydrogen output in turnis provided as input to the next vortex tube. “N” vortex tubes may thisbe arranged in series in the configuration 300, with “N” being aninteger (in the example shown, N=8) and with the hydrogen output of theN^(th) vortex tube 306 being sent to the fuel cell 22. In this way, thehydrogen is successively separated into ever-more-pure input for thefuel cell, while the carbon-based constituents output from each vortextube can be individually withdrawn from each tube and sent to thereceiver, as indicated by the “N” arrows 308.

The configuration 300 of FIG. 3 may be used in the system shown in FIG.2, with the initial vortex tube 302 receiving fuel from themixer/injector 208 and sending hydrogen from the hydrogen output 224 tothe swirl chamber input of the next vortex tube, and with the hydrogenoutput of the N^(th) vortex tube 306 being sent to the fuel cell 22 viathe vacuum pump 228 and WSGR 230. Carbon-based constituents from eachvortex tube of FIG. 3 may be sent to the mixer/receiver 30/12.

In other embodiments, the carbon output of each tube is sent to theinput of the next tube with the hydrogen outputs of each tube beingindividually directed out of the toroidal configuration 300 and sent tothe fuel cell.

FIG. 4 illustrates a vortex tube 400 that may be established by a vortextube or tubes described above and shown in FIG. 2 or 3. The vortex tube400 of FIG. 4 may include at least one inlet 402 at least one hydrogenoutlet 404 as shown, with at least one engine 406 such as a dieselengine having an input port 408 in fluid communication with the hydrogenoutlet 404 of the vortex tube 400. In this way, hydrogen produced by thereforming within the vortex tube 400 is provided as hydrogen injectionor enhancement to the engine 406, in which the hydrogen may be combinedwith diesel fuel from a tank 410 and received at a fuel intake 412 ofthe engine. Note that the hydrogen inlet 408 of the engine 406 may beseparate from the fuel intake 412 or it may be the same or in the samemechanical assembly as the fuel intake 412.

It will be appreciated in light of preceding disclosure that the vortextube 400 may typically include a swirl chamber into which hydrocarbon isprovided through the inlet 402 and a main tube segment communicatingwith the swirl chamber and having an outlet 414 that is different fromthe hydrogen outlet 404. In some embodiments such as the oneillustrated, the fuel intake 412 of the engine 406 is in fluidcommunication with the outlet 414 to receive hydrogen-depleted reformatefrom the vortex tube 400. According to the above disclosure, the outlet414 typically is juxtaposed with an inside surface of a wall of the maintube segment, onto which at least one catalytic constituent may bedisposed.

Likewise, the vortex tube 400, as described above in the case of thepreceding vortex tubes, may include a hydrogen-permeable tube disposedcentrally in the main tube segment and defining the hydrogen outlet 404at one end of the hydrogen-permeable tube.

As mentioned above, the vortex tube 400 in FIG. 4 may represent anassembly established by the plural vortex tubes arranged in a toroidalconfiguration of FIG. 3.

In the example shown, a vortex tube outlet conduit 416 communicates withthe vortex tube outlet 414 to convey hydrogen-depleted reformate to anengine fuel supply conduit 418 that connects the fuel tank 410 to thefuel intake 412 of the engine. In this way, only a single input openingneed be provided in the fuel intake. However, in alternate embodimentsthe vortex tube outlet conduit 416 extends from the vortex tube outlet414 directly to the fuel intake 412 of the engine 406 without joiningthe fuel supply conduit 418.

In the example shown, the inlet 402 of the vortex tube 400 can be influid communication with the fuel tank 410 through a fuel tank supplyconduit 420, to receive hydrocarbon fuel to be reformed. In addition oralternatively, the inlet 402 of the vortex tube 400 may be in fluidcommunication with the exhaust system 422 of the engine 406 to receive,through a vehicle exhaust conduit 424, a hydrocarbon stream to bereformed. In the example shown, when two sources of hydrocarbon to bereformed are provided (engine exhaust and fuel tank), the vehicleexhaust conduit 424 can join the fuel tank supply conduit 420 so thatonly a single inlet opening need be provided in the vortex tube 400.However, in alternate embodiments using two vortex tube input sources,the vehicle exhaust conduit 424 can extend from the vehicle exhaust 422directly to the inlet 402 and similarly the fuel tank supply conduit 420can extend from the fuel tank 410 directly to the inlet 402.

FIG. 4 also illustrates optional valves that are depicted in FIG. 4 asbeing electronically-operated valves that can be controlled by theengine control module (ECM) 426 of the engine 406 (typically a componentof the engine 406 but not housed within combustion portions of theengine 406). Alternatively, one or more of the valves shown may be checkvalves that permit one-way flow only in the directions indicated by therespective arrows next to the respective valves.

In greater particularity, a hydrogen outlet valve 428 may be disposed ina hydrogen outlet conduit 430 that extends from the hydrogen outlet 404of the vortex tube 400. In the example shown, the hydrogen outlet valve428 is upstream of an outlet assembly 432 that may include, e.g., thepump 228 and WGSR 230 shown in FIG. 2. In other embodiments the hydrogenoutlet valve 428 may be downstream of the assembly 432.

An engine exhaust vortex tube supply valve 434 may be provided in thevehicle exhaust conduit 424 as shown, preferably upstream of where thefuel tank supply conduit 420 joins the exhaust conduit 424. Likewise, afuel tank vortex tube supply valve 436 may be provided in the fuel tanksupply conduit 420. The vortex tube supply valves 434, 436 may becontrolled by the ECM 426 to selectively control which source or sourcesof hydrocarbon are provided to the vortex tube 400.

To control what fuel is received by the engine 406, first and secondengine supply valves 438, 440 may be respectively provided in the vortextube outlet conduit 416 and fuel supply conduit 418. In the non-limitingexample shown, the second engine supply valve 440 in the fuel supplyconduit 418 is provided downstream of where the fuel tank supply conduit420 that provides fuel to the vortex tube taps into the fuel supplyconduit 418, so that the second engine supply valve 440 and the fueltank vortex tube supply valve 436 can be shut to isolate theirrespective conduits as desired without affecting the other conduit.

It may now be appreciated that in operation, the vortex tube 400 reformshydrocarbon fuel and/or exhaust from an engine, separating hydrogen fromcarbon-based constituents during the reforming, with hydrogen separatedas a result of the reforming being provided to the engine 406.

FIG. 5 shows a specific system in which the discussion above isincorporated. A vortex tube 500 receives, through a mixer 502,hydrocarbon fuel such as gasoline or diesel from a fuel tank 504, e.g.,from the gas tank of a vehicle in which the system shown in FIG. 5 isdisposed. Any of the above-described vortex tubes may be used.

The steam mixer/injector 502 mixes the steam with the hydrocarbon andinjects the mixture at a high-pressure into the vortex tube inlet.Located behind the vortex inlet is the vortex generator established bythe vortex tube 500, which causes the input mixture to swirl at a highrate and travel (right, looking down on FIG. 5) toward the Carbon end ofthe tube 500, swirling along the inside peripheral of the tube at a highrate, pressure, and temperature in contact with the catalyst coating theinside surface of the tube as described above for the catalyzing layer226 in FIG. 2. This swirling action of the syngas causes the mixtureclosest to the outer periphery of the interior chamber of the vortextube 500 to both increase in temperature and to apply high centripetalforces to the catalyst lining inside the tube, increasing the reformingreaction rate and preventing carbon buildup on the catalyst.

During the reforming process, syngas is generated at the catalyzinglayer, and the Hydrogen component of the syngas then moves toward thecenter of the swirl in the vortex tube since the Hydrogen is lighterthan the carbon/steam mixture, which is urged toward the outer part ofthe swirl. Thus, one output stream of the vortex tube is composedprimarily of Hydrogen, and is output (if desired, through interveningcomponents such as the below-described pump 527) to a Hydrogen receiver,such as a Hydrogen tank or, in the non-limiting example shown, a fuelcell 520. The second output of the vortex tube includes primarilyCarbon-based constituents and in some cases water and residual Hydrogen.

A fuel pump 506 may be provided with a suction on the fuel tank 504 anddischarge into the mixer 502 to pump fuel into the mixer 502. Also, thevortex tube 500 receives, through the mixer 502, water or steam from awater tank 508. A water pump 510 may be provided with a suction on thewater tank 508 and discharge into the mixer 502 to pump water into themixer 502. Thus, the vortex tube may receive a mixture of fuel and waterfrom the mixer 502.

A fuel line valve 512 may be provided in the communication path betweenthe fuel tank 504 and mixer 502. Likewise, a water line valve 514 may beprovided in the communication path between the water tank 508 and themixer 502. In general, the valves herein may be processor-controlled andthus may include solenoids. An example processing circuit is describedfurther below.

The position of one or both valves 512, 514 may be established based onsignals from one or more mixer sensors 516 (only a single sensor shownfor clarity). The mixer sensor(s) 516 may be one or more of a fuelsensor or Oxygen sensor or Carbon sensor or temperature sensor orpressure sensor other appropriate sensor that senses the composition(and/or temperature and/or pressure) of the mixture within the mixer502. For example, if the ratio of water to fuel is too high, the fuelvalve 512 may be caused to open one or more valve position incrementsand/or the water valve may be caused to shut one or more increments.Similarly, if the ratio of water to fuel is too low, the fuel valve 512may be caused to shut one or more valve position increments and/or thewater valve may be caused to open one or more increments.

Furthermore, heat may be applied to the mixer 502 as shown at 518, andwhen the sensor 516 includes a temperature sensor, the signal from thesensor can be used to adjust the heat input to optimize the temperatureof the mixture in the mixer 502. The heat application 518 may be anelectrical heater thermally engaged with the mixer 502 and/or a conduitfor conducting heat from the below-described heat exchanger to the mixer502.

At its hydrogen output end, the vortex tube 500 outputs Hydrogen to afuel cell 520. The fuel cell 520 may be used to provide electricity toan electric propulsion motor 522 in the vehicle. The fuel cell 520 mayalso output water via a line 524 to a water tank 526 and/or direct tothe previously-described water tank 508 and/or directly into the mixer502 as shown. A Hydrogen pump 527 may be provided with a suction on thevortex tube 500 and a discharge into the fuel cell 520.

At its Carbon output end, the vortex tube 500 may output water as wellas Carbon-based constituents including Carbon Monoxide (CO) and CarbonDioxide (CO₂) to a first heat exchanger 528. The first heat exchangermay warm or cool the fluid supplied to it using a water circulation pumppumping water from any of the water tanks described herein through awater jacket or using air cooling. Heat from the fuel cell 520 and/orany of the engines in the system may be applied to the heat exchanger toheat it. Heat from the first heat exchanger may be provided through anoutlet 530 to one or more of the components shown herein, e.g., to aheat element 532 of the mixer 502 and/or to heating element 534thermally engaged with the vortex tube 500 nearer the Hydrogen end thanthe Carbon end. Note that an electric heater 536 also may be thermallyengaged with the vortex tube 500 for providing heat thereto until suchtime as one of the heat exchangers herein is warm enough to supply heatto the vortex tube 500.

Output from the heat exchanger 528 may be supplied, through an outletcontrol valve 538 to an engine 540, which may be implemented by aturbine, a diesel engine, or a gasoline engine to propel the vehicle. Asecond heat exchanger 542 may be provided to extract heat from theengine 540, with heat from the second heat exchanger 542 being suppliedas necessary to one or more of the mixer 502 and vortex tube 500 throughrespective conduits 544, 546. Note that the first and second heatexchangers 528, 542 may be combined into a single unit if desired.

Also, some output from the fuel tank 504 may flow through a fuel line548 in which a hydrocarbon valve 550 may be provided to provide fuel tothe engine 540 in a startup mode. In the startup mode the valve 550 isopened, connecting the hydrocarbon tank to the engine/turbine to supplyfuel and startup the engine/turbine, which in turn supplies heat to theheat exchanger, which in turn heats up the vortex tube-basedreformer/separator structure shown.

One or more sensors 552 may be provided to sense parameters in theoutput of the Carbon end of the vortex tube 500. These one or moresensors may sense temperature, CO₂, CO, water, Hydrogen etc. and mayinput signals to a processor to control a throttle control valve 554 inthe Carbon outlet of the vortex tube 500 upstream of the sensor(s) 552as necessary to ensure parameters may stay within predetermined ranges.

With greater specificity, at the Carbon end of the vortex tube 500, theswirling syngas encounters the partial blockage created by the throttlecontrol valve 554. The position of the throttle control valve 554 may beadjusted by the below-described processor based on one or more inputsignals from the sensors described herein such that the heaviercarbon-rich mixture passes through the peripheral gap of the controlvalve 554. In an example, the below-described processor determines, fromsensor signals, the hydrogen/carbon ratio and adjusts the position ofthe throttle control valve 554 accordingly.

On the other hand, the center of the syngas swirl, mostly Hydrogen, isreflected off of the center of the throttle control valve 554. Thisprevents the Hydrogen from escaping through the valve 554 and to travelback (left, looking down on FIG. 5) toward the Hydrogen end of thevortex tube 500, where it exits the tube and is input into the fuel cell520. The hydrogen stream, which is concentrated at the center of thevortex tube, exits the vortex tube at a lower temperature than both theperipheral swirl and the initially injected hydrocarbon steam mixture.This lower temperature hydrogen is well suited for use in the fuel cell.

Similarly, one or more sensors 556 may be provided to sense parametersin the Hydrogen output of the vortex tube. These one or more sensors 556may sense temperature, CO₂, CO, water, Hydrogen etc. and may inputsignals to a processor to control one or more of the valves or othercomponents herein as necessary to ensure parameters may stay withinpredetermined ranges. Thus, temperature within the vortex tube 500 maybe sensed through a temperature sensor and can be regulated by thebelow-described processor to maintain proper temperature for reforming.

It may now be appreciated that FIG. 5 illustrates an integrated vortextube-based reformer and hydrogen separator connected to a fuel cell 520and to an engine/turbine 540 to establish a hybrid fuel cell turbine.The structure of FIG. 5 provides the capability of immediately startingup for a vehicle such as a car or truck having onboard reforming bymeans of porting fuel from the tank 504 through the line 548 to theengine 540. In this instance, when the system is cold, theengine/turbine 540 is powered up first by means fuel ported through thevalve 550 so that the vehicle can operate immediately and in turn heatup the reformer separator prior to switching to hydrogen operation.

Once warm enough to operate in the hydrogen operating mode, thegenerated hydrogen stream from the vortex tube 500 is supplied to thefuel cell 520, and the Carbon stream from the vortex tube 500 issupplied to the turbine/engine 540. The system of FIG. 5 includes twofront end supply tanks, namely, the water tank 508 and hydrocarbon tank504 that supply product to the steam mixer/injector 502 via theabove-described control valves 512, 514. These control valves 512, 514advantageously may be regulated based on sensed parameters, such aspower demand and reaction rates, temperatures, gas mixtures sensed bythe sensors shown in FIG. 5 and controlled by the processor shown anddescribed below.

FIG. 6 illustrates schematically gas separation in the vortex tube 500.The central Hydrogen-permeable tube 600 receives relatively coolHydrogen while relatively warm Carbon constituents are drawn toward thecatalytic lining 602 on the inner surface of the outer wall of thevortex tube 500. Arrows 602 represent the steam/Hydrocarbon swirl of thegases in the vortex tube. FIG. 6 thus illustrates the swirling action ofthe hydrocarbon steam mixture, the reforming, and the stratification ofthe syngas with the Hydrogen moving towards the center.

In FIG. 6, the reformer vortex tube is illustrated with the catalystlining, such as a nickel-based catalyst, with the integrated heaters andheat exchangers proving energy to the reforming reaction. FIG. 6 showsthe swirling action of the hydrocarbon steam mixture, the reforming, andthe stratification of the syngas with the hydrogen moving towards thecenter and the heavier gases in contact with the peripheral tube. Thehydrocarbon steam mixture is reformed into syngas through contact withthe catalyst-lined tube. This breaks the methane component of thenatural gas into carbon monoxide (CO) and H₂ gas.

FIGS. 7-9 illustrate additional systems in which vortex tubes are usedas reformers for separating Hydrogen from fuel for a variety ofpurposes, including any of the purposes mentioned above (e.g., injectionof Hydrogen into engines) as well as in Hydrogen production for petrochemical installations, and other purposes.

FIG. 7 illustrates an integrated reformer and hydrogen separatorconnected to an integrated water gas shift and hydrogen separator forproducing hydrogen and carbon dioxide from hydrocarbons. In FIG. 7, afirst stage vortex tube 700 receives a heated fuel and water mixturefrom a mixer 702, with the relevant sensor, pumping, valving, andheating components disclosed in FIG. 5 also being provided in theexample shown and labeled in FIG. 7. However, in contrast to the systemof FIG. 5, the Carbon output of the first stage vortex tube 700 in FIG.7 is sent through a heat exchanger 704 if desired to the inlet 706 of asecond stage vortex tube 708. The second stage vortex tube 708 extractsresidual Hydrogen in the Carbon output of the first stage vortex tube700. Effectively, the second stage vortex tube 708 may be regarded as awater gas shift separator. The second stage vortex tube 708 may beinternally coated with a catalyzing layer (similar to the layer 226shown in FIG. 2) that is made of different constituents than thecatalyzing layer used to coat the interior of the first stage vortextube 700. For example, the first stage vortex tube 700 may includenickel in the catalyzing layer whereas the second stage vortex tube 708may include copper in its catalyzing layer. In specific embodiments, thecatalyzing layer of the second stage vortex tube 708 corresponding tothe layer 226 shown in FIG. 2 may be composed of Copper Oxide, ZincOxide, and Aluminum Oxide. In non-limiting specific examples, thecatalyzing layer may be made of 32-33% CuO, 34-53% ZnO, and 15-33%Al₂O₃.

The heat exchanger 704 extracts heat from the Carbon output of the firststage vortex tube 700. To this end, the heat exchanger may include acool water jacket or it may include air cooling fins or other aircooling structure. It may also be a thermoelectric heat exchanger.Preferably, the heat exchanger cools the input fluid to 200° C.-250° C.

In any case, the second stage vortex tube 708, owing to the combinationof structure shown, may be regarded as a vortex tube-based WGSR in whichresidual Hydrogen in the Carbon output of the first stage vortex tube700 is extracted through the combining of Carbon Monoxide with watervapor from the Carbon output of the first stage vortex tube 700 toproduce Carbon Dioxide and Hydrogen (in the form of H₂).

The Hydrogen outputs of both vortex tubes 700, 708 can be sent throughone or respective Hydrogen filters 710, 712 to further purify theHydrogen by filtering out non-Hydrogen material. The outputs 714, 716 ofthe Hydrogen filters may communicate with the intake of an engine suchas any of the engines described herein to provide, for instance,Hydrogen-assisted combustion.

A condenser 718 may be provided at the outlet of the second stage vortextube 708 to separate CO₂ from water, with water being sent to theillustrated water tank and CO₂ vented from the top of the condenser asshown to atmosphere.

FIG. 8 illustrates an integrated reformer and hydrogen separatorconnected to an integrated water gas shift and hydrogen separatorconnected to a hydrogen and hydrocarbon fuel mixer to inject into anengine, turbine, or burner to provide hydrogen assisted combustion.

With greater specificity, FIG. 8 shows a first stage vortex tube 800receiving a water and fuel mixture from a mixer 802 according toprinciples above and outputting from its Carbon end input to a secondstage vortex tube 804. The difference between the system of FIG. 8compared to the system of FIG. 7 is that the hydrogen outputs of bothvortex tubes 800, 804 in FIG. 8 may be combined with fuel from the fueltank 806 that also supplies fuel to the inlet of the first stage vortextube 800 in a fuel/Hydrogen mixer 808. The mixture in the fuel/Hydrogenmixer 808 may be sent to an engine 810 as shown.

A condenser 812 may be provided at the outlet of the engine 810 toseparate CO₂ from water, with water being sent to the illustrated watertank and CO₂ vented from the top of the condenser as shown toatmosphere. A separate condenser 814 may be provided at the outlet ofthe second stage vortex tube 804 according to prior disclosure withrespect to FIG. 7. In some embodiments the condensers may be implementedby a single condenser.

FIG. 9 illustrates an integrated reformer and hydrogen separatorconnected to an integrated water gas shift and hydrogen separatorpowering a hybrid fuel cell system. With greater specific, as shown inFIG. 9, a system includes first stage and second stage vortex tubes 900,902 substantially as described above, but with the Hydrogen outputs ofeach vortex tube being supplied to a Hydrogen receptacle 904, whichcommunicates with a fuel cell 906 and engine 908 to provide Hydrogen toboth. The fuel cell 906 may establish the Hydrogen receptacle 904, inwhich case excess Hydrogen not used by the fuel cell is sent to theengine 908. Both the engine 908 and fuel cell 906 can be used to providepropulsive power to a vehicle.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example processing circuit for controlling thepumps, valves, and other components in the preceding figures. Acontroller 1000 such as a processor receives input from any of theabove-described sensors (shown at 1002) and may also receive valveposition signals from the actuators of any of the above-described valves(shown at 1004) as well as a demanded load signal from a demanded loadsignal source 1006 such as a vehicle accelerator. The controller usesthe inputs to control one or more of the heat exchangers and attendantcomponents (shown at 1008) and throttle valves (shown at 1010). Thecontroller 1000 also communicates with or established by controlcomponents in any of the above-described fuel cells and engines (shownat 1012 and 1014, respectively).

Thus, a control system herein may include computers and processorsconnected over a network such that data may be exchanged between theclient and server components. The client components may include one ormore computing devices such as engine control modules (ECMs), portablecomputers such as laptops and tablet computers, and other mobile devicesincluding smart phones. These computing devices may operate with avariety of operating environments. For example, some of the clientcomputers may employ, as examples, Linux operating systems, operatingsystems from Microsoft, or a Unix operating system, or operating systemsproduced by Apple Computer or Google, or VxWorks embedded operatingsystems from Wind River.

Information may be exchanged over a network between the components. Tothis end and for security, components can include firewalls, loadbalancers, temporary storages, and proxies, and other networkinfrastructure for reliability and security.

As used herein, instructions refer to computer-implemented steps forprocessing information in the system. Instructions can be implemented insoftware, firmware or hardware and include any type of programmed stepundertaken by components of the system.

A processor may be any conventional general purpose single- ormulti-chip processor that can execute logic by means of various linessuch as address lines, data lines, and control lines and registers andshift registers.

Software modules described by way of the flow charts and user interfacesherein can include various sub-routines, procedures, etc. Withoutlimiting the disclosure, logic stated to be executed by a particularmodule can be redistributed to other software modules and/or combinedtogether in a single module and/or made available in a library.

Present principles described herein can be implemented as hardware,software, firmware, or combinations thereof; hence, illustrativecomponents, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps are set forth in termsof their functionality.

Further to what has been alluded to above, logical blocks, modules, andcircuits described below can be implemented or performed with a generalpurpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device suchas an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), discrete gate ortransistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combinationthereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A processorcan be implemented by a controller or state machine or a combination ofcomputing devices.

The functions and methods described below, when implemented in software,can be written in an appropriate language such as but not limited toJava, C# or C++, and can be stored on or transmitted through acomputer-readable storage medium such as a random access memory (RAM),read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-onlymemory (EEPROM), compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other opticaldisk storage such as digital versatile disc (DVD), magnetic disk storageor other magnetic storage devices including removable thumb drives, etc.A connection may establish a computer-readable medium. Such connectionscan include, as examples, hard-wired cables including fiber optic andcoaxial wires and digital subscriber line (DSL) and twisted pair wires.Such connections may include wireless communication connectionsincluding infrared and radio.

The operating logic of FIG. 11 is specifically directed to the systemshown in FIG. 5, although its principles may apply where relevant to theother systems shown herein.

The logic commences at state 1100 and proceeds to block 1102, whereinthe hydrocarbon fuel valve 550 is opened to port hydrocarbon fuel to theengine 540 pursuant to starting the engine. The heat exchanger 520 isstarted and the electric heaters of the mixer 502 and vortex tube 500are energized at block 1106 to initialize the reforming of the vortextube. Once the heat exchanger is hot enough to supply heat to the mixerand vortex tube, the heat from the heat exchanger may replace the heatfrom the electric heaters, which may be deenergized.

Decision diamond 1108 indicates that one or more of the sensorsdescribed above embodied as a temperature sensor is sampled and when itssignal indicates that the vortex tube has reached a sufficienttemperature for reforming the hydrocarbon from the mixer 502, the vortextube is actuated at block 1110, and the fuel cell 520 initialized. Inputmay be received at decision diamond 1112 indicating that the driver isready to transition from hydrocarbon propulsion from the engine 540 toelectric propulsion from the fuel cell 520, at which point the logicmoves to block 1114 to shut the fuel valve 550 and transition toelectric drive at block 1116.

Components included in one embodiment can be used in other embodimentsin any appropriate combination. For example, any of the variouscomponents described herein and/or depicted in the Figures may becombined, interchanged or excluded from other embodiments.

“A system having at least one of A, B, and C” (likewise “a system havingat least one of A, B, or C” and “a system having at least one of A, B,C”) includes systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and Btogether, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and Ctogether, etc.

While the particular systems and methods are herein shown and describedin detail, the scope of the present application is limited only by theappended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An assembly comprising: at least a first vortextube configured for receiving hydrocarbon fuel and separating thehydrocarbon fuel into a first stream and a second stream, the firststream being composed primarily of Hydrogen, the second stream includingCarbon; at least a first Hydrogen receiver configured for receiving thefirst stream; and at least a second vortex tube configured for receivingthe second stream from the first vortex tube and for separating thesecond stream into a third stream and a fourth stream, the third streambeing composed primarily of Hydrogen for provisioning thereof to theHydrogen receiver, the second stream including Carbon.
 2. The assemblyof claim 1, wherein the Hydrogen receiver includes a hydrogen tank. 3.The assembly of claim 1, wherein the Hydrogen receiver includes a fuelcell.
 4. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the first and third streamsare provided to the Hydrogen receiver.
 5. The assembly of claim 1,comprising at least one heat exchanger disposed in fluid communicationbetween the vortex tubes and configured for removing heat from thesecond stream prior to the second stream being input to the secondvortex tube.
 6. The assembly of claim 1, wherein at least a firstcatalytic constituent is on an inside surface of the first vortex tubeand at least a second catalytic constituent is on an inside surface ofthe second vortex tube.
 7. The assembly of claim 6, wherein the secondcatalytic constituent includes Copper.
 8. The assembly of claim 7,further comprising Zinc and Aluminum on the inside surface of the secondvortex tube.
 9. The assembly of claim 6, wherein at least a firstcatalytic constituent is on an inside surface of the first vortex tubeand at least a second catalytic constituent is on an inside surface ofthe second vortex tube but is not on the inside surface of the firstvortex tube.